Laurel Tree Players to stage spoof of Hitchcock's 'The 39 Steps'

Mix a Hitchcock masterpiece with a juicy spy novel, add a dash of Monty Python, and you have "The 39 Steps," a fast-paced whodunit for anyone who loves the magic of theater.

Mix a Hitchcock masterpiece with a juicy spy novel, add a dash of Monty Python, and you have "The 39 Steps," a fast-paced whodunit for anyone who loves the magic of theater.

This play, a two-time Tony and Drama Desk Award-winning treat, is packed with nonstop laughs, more than 50 zany characters (played by a versatile cast of only five), an onstage plane crash, handcuffs, missing fingers, and some good old-fashioned romance.

This show is perfectly suited to The Laurel Tree Players, a theater company which has been delighting and entertaining audiences for 24 years. Their productions have been heralded by critics as "exemplary illustrations of well-wrought theatre," and lauded as "stylish" and "sassy" with "the best comic acting in the area." Under the co-direction of Matthew Bernardo and Maurice Ouellette, this talented troupe will present "The 39 Steps" Friday through Sunday.

In "The 39 Steps," Richard Hannay — a man with a boring life — finds himself on an extraordinary adventure when a quickly acquainted spy is killed by assassins with a butter knife. Soon, a mysterious organization called "The 39 Steps" is hot on the man's trail in a nationwide manhunt that climaxes in a death-defying finale. This spoof is a fast-paced, riotous blend of virtuoso performances and wildly inventive stagecraft.

The play adapted by Patrick Barlow remains very close to the Hitchcock film, particularly in terms of its frenetic timing. But putting the movie — a farce-like whirlwind adventure — onstage requires ingenious theatrical devices to instantly go from a chase scene on a train, to a plane crash, to a luxurious Scottish manor, then to a London flat. Also occurring at breakneck speed are nearly 100 costume changes, which often happen right before the audience in the blink of an eye.

The orignal production of "The 39 Steps" received ecstatic reviews. The New York Times called it, "Absurdly enjoyable! This gleefully theatrical riff on Hitchcock's film is fast and frothy, performed by a cast of five that seems like a cast of thousands." The Daily News exclaimed, "Hitchcock probably never imagined his thriller had the makings of a hilarious comedy, but this show is a dizzy delight and an ingenious spoof ... a fast-paced fun ride!"

Ricardo Aguiar plays the suave hero Richard Hannay. His love interest Pamela is played by Maureen Santos. Two other female roles, the mysterious and sultry Annabella and the innocent Margaret, are played by Katie Gregory, while the remaining multitude of characters (spies, policemen, innkeepers, traveling salesmen, etc.) are played by Rosemary Larkin and Maurice Ouellette.